HOT NEWS: After 58 years of production, and 38,000 sailboats, the MacGregors are retiring. Production of the MacGregor 26 has been discontinued. Our daughter and son in law, Laura and Paul Sharp, have opened a new boat building business in Stuart, Florida, and are manufacturing a boat similar to our MacGregor 26. Contact them at tattooyachts.com

For all of the details about our retirement, and for the full MacGregor 26 website, click here.

There are two models:
(See the price list section of this web site (click
here) for prices.)

The
standard trailer has an aluminum frame, a painted torsion bar axle, fiberglass
fenders and a bow stand with no boarding ladder.

The deluxe
trailer is similar to the standard trailer, except that it has surge brakes,
a galvanized torsion bar axle, aluminum brake caliper holders, zinc plated
disc brake rotors, and a boarding ladder near the trailer hitch.

I suspect
that most customers will opt for the deluxe trailer package, since most states
require trailer brakes. The standard model will be useful as a
yard dolly or as a shipping cradle, and we expect to sell a lot of these to the overseas
markets and any area that does not require brakes on the trailers.

Surge brakes are simple and
reliable. When the car brakes are applied, the boat trailer begins to push
against the trailer hitch, and an actuator built into the
trailer hitch creates pressure in the hydraulic system to generated force to
activate the trailer's disc brakes.

The
aluminum trailer is about 180 pounds lighter than the comparable steel
trailer. This is a big benefit.

Both models
of the aluminum offer superior corrosion resistance. The deluxe model, with the
galvanized axle and zinc plated brake parts, will be about as corrosion
resistant as a trailer can be. The aluminum is not painted, and should
retain its good looks for a long, long time. Steel parts are being
painted with epoxy primer and linear polyurethane (Dupont Imron).

BOW STAND AND
AND BOARDING LADDER

On both
models, the trailer tongue and bow stand will be painted steel. We are
required by law to have a steel trailer tongue (tow bar). We are better off with
a welded steel bow stand and boarding ladder to avoid drilling more bolt
holes in the 3” square trailer tow bar. The bow stand is the least
likely part of the trailer to get in the water, and the painted steel should
hold up well. Everything else on the trailers is aluminum, stainless
steel, plastic, galvanized steel or plated steel, wood and carpet. Not
much to corrode here.

CORROSION
PROOF FIBERGLASS FENDERS

The fenders
are fiberglass, and are rather nifty looking. The license plate and
tail light holders are corrosion proof plastic (the same material as the
sliding hatch rails on the MacGregor 26).

The main
frames rails are I beams, 3 ½” x 5” with .280" flanges. . These are a lot more massive
than the steel C channel, and the trailer looks a lot more substantial.

TRAILER I
BEAM SIDE RAILS

The
vertical guide rails are aluminum, taller than on the steel trailer, and
keep the boat centered.

We have
eliminated the 2 guide tubes on the bow stand. As the boat comes onto
the trailer, the steep V support at the front of the hull centers the boat
nicely into the rubber bow block. This saves some weight and
complexity.

TORSION BAR
AXLE END AND SURGE BRAKE ASSEMBLY

This is a
photo of the torsion bar axle. The marine industry is switching away from springs
and shackles to the torsion bar system. Virtually all of the
aluminum trailers being built for the marine industry sit on torsion bar
axles. They are more costly, but well worth it.

The axle
itself (3” x 3” x .180 wall) is bolted directly to the trailer frame.
There is a rubber sleeve in each end of the axle. A smaller square
tube fits inside the rubber sleeve, and the rubber allows the smaller tube
to rotate to a limited degree within the axle tube.

The wheels
are mounted to a trailing arm that is part of the smaller square insert
tube. The up and down motion of the trailing arms, rotating against
the rubber insert, provides the springing action.

The
trailing arm fits over splines in the insert tube, and the angle of the
trailing arm can be adjusted to raise or lower the trailer. These
systems provide a superb ride and are very durable. This is high
quality stuff made by one of the best axle suppliers in the industry.

To save
weight, we have a length of 5/32 upper shroud wire steel cable across the
trailer to catch the daggerboard if it comes undone. This replaces the
1” pipe used on the steel trailers.